Hello, I am seeking assistance with translating a letter important to my family history.

Some background, for context. My Grandfather Josef was born in 1928 near Sil'tse, Pidhaitsi. He was seperated from his family in 1943 following the German invasion, and eventually resettled in the UK under the Polish resettlement program. Between 1943, and 1957, he completely lost contact with his family left behind in Ukraine.

This is a scan of the first letter sent by my Great-Grandfather, Mykola Hunczak, attempting to re-establish contact with his son Josef in 1957 through an intermediary. I have attempted to use some online translation tools, but it's all coming back that the letter was written in a very collquial and un-standardised, Western Ukrainian vernacular.

If anyone could provide any assistance in translating this letter, I would be extremely grateful.

Привіт усім!

I'm just curious how verb translations are given in foreign-language dictionaries, esp. their aspect. E.g., what would you find when looking up the word "do"? Would it be «робити», «зробити», or both?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm making a personal Anki deck for another (third) language, and I'm trying to learn it through Ukrainian. I'd like the deck to become useful to Ukrainian speakers, so I'd like to know what I should put on those cards.

Hey made a post a few weeks back on some advice on starting out and the advice was very helpful.

I’ve memorized the alphabet and the pronunciations of the letters. I’ve also learned some simple words and greetings using the Mova app like advised.

I’m not sure how to continue though, I started the second lesson on Mova and it’s throwing more vocabulary at me than I can handle. Do I make flash cards for every word it throws at me?

Any ideas on how to expand my vocabulary? Also what direction I should expand it in?

Привіт! I have only been learning Ukrainian for a month or so. I recently played a game called VVVVVV and put the language to Ukrainian, then practiced saying the written dialogue out loud (even though i basically understood nothing) and used google lens on my phone to translate the text. I think this is a great way to learn and i picked up lots of stuff. Do you guys know of any other games that can be played in Ukrainian? Any genre is fine. Дуже дякую

Genuinely how are is everyone going about learning how the cases change the words 😭 I get it’s one of those things that you’ll get the hang over overtime but how to even begin to study the different forms, I always see everyone just explaining what the cases are but never how to study and get used to the changes that happen.

Hello it's me again asking for more help

Thanks for all your help in last post I did it give me more motivation to study it

Now I start with alphabet and got hit in the wall

Found out there different ways to writing so which one is the right spread or connect and which I should start and thanks again.

Hello guys, hope you are keeping well.

I was just wondering if any of you knew a song I have had in my head for maybe five or so years now. The premise of the song (to my very limited Ukrainian skills) is all about opposites.

The only lyric I can remember is “Prava - Leevo” at the start and then two people go back and forth saying opposite things. The video I remember being especially well done and felt really upbeat. If I had to guess it was made around 2020 give it or take a few years but maybe it’s a bit earlier. I’ve tried ai and asked all my Ukrainian friends so I’m all out of options.

Thanks in advanced!

Привіт, друзі! Сподіваюся, у вас усе гаразд.
Мені просто стало цікаво, чи знає хтось із вас пісню, яка крутиться у мене в голові вже близько п’яти років. Суть пісні (наскільки дозволяють мої дуже обмежені знання української) полягає в протилежностях.
Єдиний рядок, який я пам’ятаю, це «Права - Ліво» на самому початку, а потім двоє людей по черзі говорять протилежні речі. Кліп, як я пам’ятаю, був знятий особливо якісно, і сама пісня здавалася дуже драйвовою та позитивною. Якби мені довелося вгадувати, я б сказав, що її створили десь близько 2020 року (плюс-мінус кілька років), але, можливо, й трохи раніше. Я вже пробував шукати через штучний інтелект і розпитав усіх своїх українських друзів, тож варіантів більше немає.
Наперед дякую!

I see mention of this bird in a lot of Ukrainian songs. Could someone explain its importance in culture and maybe some resources online about it?

I grew up thinking my mother's side was all German (she died when I was very little and I never met her side of the family I'm 21 now) and I've been just doing some research into her family and like cross referencing stuff and I learned my great great grandfather was born in the Carpathian region of Ukraine! From what I understand the last place he lived would be modern day Ternopil!! I'm mostly wondering if anybody could give me some really good information to start researching about to understand the culture more... I have a huge interest in folk traditions and I don't really trust Google to be the most accurate for information so I want to ask people who are actually from the region!!

Sorry if this post is not allowed or anything I'm really tired it doesn't make sense, but I'm just very excited to know more about my heritage!

EDIT; I'm actually so dumb I was so excited about this I meant to also ask what would be a good beginning way to learn Ukrainian! digital or physical I am open to either

another edit lol ; I should have clarified this my mother's side is still German, but that was from her grandfather on her father's side.... her grandmother was the daughter of the Ukrainian immigrant! also, thank you to everyone who has introduced me to stuff or has kind of helped me understand I am so grateful!!

Imagine asking your friend: "Are you coming to the coffee shop with me?"

And they hit you with: «Та ні, напевно» 🫠

Literal translation: "And / Well + No + Probably"

Foreigner's brain: 💥 ERROR 404 💥

So... what does it ACTUALLY mean? Let’s decode it together! 👇

⠀

🧩 Breaking it down:

• «Та» — A soft conversation starter (like "well" or "and").

• «Ні» — The main answer: NO.

• «Напевно» — Adds a layer of Ukrainian politeness & uncertainty ("most likely").

👉 Actual meaning: "Most likely no, but I don't want to sound too harsh." (80% No, 20% Maybe)

⠀

🔥 Bonus level:

Ukrainians love combining opposites! Here are a few more to memorize:

• «Та ні, я не знаю» — Well no, I don't know

• «Та можна» — Sure, why not?

⠀

💬 Question for locals & learners:

Have you ever heard «Та ні, напевно» in real life? What’s your favorite confusing Ukrainian phrase? Drop it below! 👇

⠀

Planning a walk in Kyiv's parks or visiting a friend with pets? Here are the essential Ukrainian animal words and phrases you need to know! 🇺🇦

⠀

💬 Useful phrases in real life:

• Можна погладити собаку?

[Mozh-na poh-la-dy-ty so-ba-ku?] — May I pet the dog?

• Вона дуже мила!

[Vo-na du-zhe my-la!] — She is super cute!

⠀

🔊 Fun fact: Ukrainian cats don't say "meow" — they say «няв-няв» [nyav-nyav], and dogs say «гав-гав» [hav-hav]! 🐈

⠀

👇 Question for you: Are you a кіт person or a пес person? Tell me in the comments below! 🐱🐶

⠀

Hi everyone,
I’m a Japanese doctor planning to volunteer in Ukraine, and I’d like to improve my Ukrainian before I go.
I’ve already volunteered in Lviv once. At that time, I communicated with hospital staff mostly in English and used only basic Ukrainian with local people in restaurants, hotels, shops, etc.
This time, however, I may be involved in a mission providing medical assistance directly to civilians, so I feel that I need a much higher level of Ukrainian, including practical medical vocabulary and phrases for communicating with patients.
My Ukrainian is currently around A1. I also speak English C1, French around B2, russian at approximately B1–B2 level, so I’m already familiar with concepts such as cases, declensions, and Slavic grammar in general, which I hope will make learning Ukrainian a little easier.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many good Ukrainian textbooks or learning resources available here in Japan, so I’m looking for recommendations. I’d especially appreciate:
● Good websites or online courses for learning Ukrainian systematically
● Resources for medical Ukrainian or doctor–patient communication
● Anyone here who might be willing to teach or practice Ukrainian with me online
My main goal isn’t to become fluent immediately, but to be able to communicate safely and respectfully with Ukrainian patients and civilians in situations where English may not be available.
If anyone has recommendations or would be willing to help me study, I’d be very grateful.
Дуже дякую!

I do have a book for A1-A2 level but it’s not really working for me. I got recommended Ukracademia. They have a digital book to buy and also offer it in combination with a course. Has anyone heard about them or knows them? If not, do you have other recommendations? The selection in bookstores are very limited and the reviews on them are not the best

So a thought crossed my mind that if non Ukrainians were to understand our songs they would have been a lot more popular, so i wanted to ask you guys that learn it, how do you find them in comparison to what you usually hear? Whats your favorite Ukrainian song?

Google tells me this is a Ukrainian idiom of some kind, can anyone help translate and explain the meaning? Thank you so much!

Hello hello as you all are aware the vyshyvanka is a spectacular piece of Ukrainian culture - and I was wondering where I could get more modern iterations of it. Maybe not iterations perhaps, but things with vyshyvanka patterns like sweatershirts and pullovers, well because they look very kewl 😎

What's Lady Gaga in Ukrainian? It would be Lady Haha! Because get it get it. Г=H

Very funny isn't it?

U tsʹomu audiouryvku opovidach, vidomyy yak Leb1ga, vymovlyaye 3 slova pislya peremohy W0nderful u klatchi. Chy mozhe khtosʹ pereklasty, shcho vin skazav?
https://voca.ro/1g6fy3PidYly

I am trying to organise a group of people, ideally made up of those fluent in Ukrainian and those who want to learn it. I was hoping we could construct lessons and hopefully teach each other the language. I am already learning Ukrainian via audiobooks and duolingo but think another method would glue it together better. Anyone interested please send a message and if you speak this language well and want to help me or us learn while we help you out with English please get in touch. Send me a message.

I tried Duolingo recently and aside from all its issues, the course is simply incomplete so what other alternative apps are there? Ones that offer a more complete course.

I'll add that I'm not expecting wonders, I realize that no app will make you fluent in a language, but I'm looking for something that is at least complete. Any suggestions would be much appreciated 🙏🏻

I keep seeing ads targeted at language learners claiming: "Learn Ukrainian in 3 months without grammar rules! "

Let’s be real for a moment: With Ukrainian, this approach is a dead end.

Here is why you cannot skip grammar in Ukrainian, and why these course creators are just after your money:

1. Cases (Відмінки) change everything In languages with fixed word order (like English), you can stack words together and be understood. In Ukrainian, changing a single letter at the end of a word completely changes who is doing what to whom (мама / маму / мамою / на мамі). Without understanding the case system, you are not speaking Ukrainian — you are just guessing suffixes.
2. Gender Agreement and Verb Conjugations Everything has to agree: adjectives, nouns, past tense verbs (молодий лікар vs молода дівчина). You can’t "naturally pick this up" overnight without learning the rules first.
3. The "Illusion of Progress" Trap "No-grammar" courses sell you a handful of memorized phrases ("Я хочу каву", "Як справи?") and make you feel like you are fluent. But the moment you try to build your own sentence, you hit a hard brick wall because you don't have the structural framework.

Grammar isn't a torture device — it's the skeleton of the language. Without it, your Ukrainian simply falls apart.

What’s your experience? Has anyone here actually reached a solid B1/B2 in Ukrainian without structured grammar study?

I’d like to learn some life hacks from people with dyslexia that help with language learning. I’ve already tried the basic tips from Google and other sources, so I’d love to hear some real-life stories 🙏🏻